Math/Science Nucleus

PETROLEUM Teacher Guide including Lesson Plans, Student Readers, and More Information Lesson 1 - History of the Petroleum Industry Lesson 2 - How Oil and Gas are Created Lesson 3 - Extracting Petroleum (Lab) Lesson 4 - Products of Petroleum (Activity) Lesson 5 - Finding Black Gold designed to be used as an Electronic Textbook in class or at home materials can be obtained from the Math/Science Nucleus Math/Science Nucleus © 2001 1 EARTH SCIENCES - PETROLEUM Lesson 1 - History of the Petroleum Industry MATERIALS: Objective: Students learn the importance reader of petroleum in today’s society. Teacher note Most people today are unaware of the giant petroleum industry. They use their products every day from gasoline to polyester fibers, but rarely think of what our society was like before many petroleum products were discovered. Crude oil and bitumen (tar) have been known since people have first walked this planet. The thick, black, smelly liquid was more a bother than a miracle chemical concoction in early times Animals, including humans would get stuck in tar pools and go to a blackened death. Today, petroleum is the basis of our world economy. There are several websites that might be helpful including: http://www.oilhistory.com http://little-mountain.com/oilwell/ Although oil was used to keep fires ablaze in early human history, its importance in the world economy evolved slowly. Wood and coal were used to heat and cook with, while whale oil was used for light. The black, smelly, thick liquid is referred to as tar or rock oil was only seen as a substance to avoid. When the whaling industry hunted the sperm whale almost to extinction and the Industrial Revolution needed a fuel to run generators Capturing sperm whale for oil and engines, a new source of energy was needed. In the search for new products, it was discovered that from crude oil or petroleum, kerosene could be extracted and used as a light and heating fuel. Petroleum was in demand at the end of the 1800's. The search for finding “black gold” was on! Example of energy consumption in the United States Math/Science Nucleus © 2001 2 Early oil pioneers noted that oil could be found near oil seeps. As drilling equipment was developed in the 1800's, searching for water and salt, oil finders decided to drill for oil. As drilling started, they recognized that the rocks gave them clues to where the oil was trapped. They noted that sedimentary rocks, especially sandstones, would contain the black liquid. Early explorers would not only use science, but also luck. Edwin L. Drake was just one of these early drillers. He developed a “drive pipe” that would allow people to drill with more control. In 1859, near Oil Creek in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Drake used his drill and struck oil. He used whisky barrels to capture his new wealth. Word soon spread like a wildfire, with the promise of riches, men were lured to strike it rich in the oil fields of the east. Drake’s first operation in Pennsylvania Although Drake laid the foundation for an industry that would change the face of the world, he died in the 1880's in obscurity. But the industry he helped to find, would soon make oil finders some of the wealthiest people in the world. So while young men in the United States were going west to find wealth in gold, other men sought oil. The oil industry would keep evolving to bring its participants wealth beyond their imagination. In the early years, it was individuals who became rich, but as the fortune was too much to comprehend, corporations would evolve to manage the unprecedented growth. The Standard Oil dynasty is one such story. The wealthiest person of all times was John D. Rockefeller, who established Standard Oil in 1870. This company had a reputation as a “robber baron,” controlling a product that was to influence the price of just about everything in the industrialized world. Rockefeller started his business on refining light oil and kerosene from crude oil. The company was so feared that the United States John D. Rockefeller government enacted the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 to break up the first monopoly in a democracy. Monopoly of one individual or company in a democratic society can undermine the health of that country. John D. Rockefeller died in 1937, but with his wealth he created one of the largest philanthropical charities to now make the Rockefeller name synonymous with goodwill. Math/Science Nucleus © 2001 3 Another giant of the oil industry in the early years is J. Paul Getty. He always claimed that his formula for success included, “Rise early. Work late. Strike Oil!” Getty was born into the oil industry, as his father was an insurance company attorney in the fledgling industry. Getty acquired oil companies in the Oklahoma oil boom. Getty based his wealth not on discovering oil, but buying and selling of oil concession. His insight and deal making won Getty many oil fields in the newly opened oil rich middle east. He was considered the United State’s first billionaire in 1957, but was noted for his “weirdness.” During World War II, he spent most of his time in a concrete bunker in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But when he died in 1976, he was J. Paul Getty, (1938) heralded as a symbol of the entrepreneur and master of the deal. Oil companies attracted many people because of the excitement of finding a gusher with hopes of instant wealth. Prospecting for oil was hard work and dangerous. After you find oil, drilling the well to extract it may be more difficult. Funds were needed for drilling, which was then, and still is today, an expensive operation. Oil is dangerous by its very nature. Many times it is in layers of the Earth with natural gas, and can create a fire storm if there is just one spark. In the movies they enacted the “There she blows!” referring to a geyser of oil shooting through a derrick. The gushers are under extreme pressure and difficult Oil gusher and derrick in Ohio to cap to prevent the lost of petroleum. Specialized drilling rigs to control the flow of oil had to be developed. Early oil drilling in the eastern U.S. Math/Science Nucleus © 2001 4 As the industry matured, huge multi conglomerate oil companies were created. There were oil rights, leases, drilling, marketing, and product development that were involved in bringing products to market. The demand for oil increased steadily as nations were emerging as industrialized countries. It seemed overnight, that the coal industry was replaced by the petroleum industry. Since petroleum is a non-renewable resource, new areas needed to be explored. The leaders in the petroleum industry were the Americans. The companies Venezuela, 1921 soon realized that oil was an international product. Nations like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Indonesia, and Russia contained vast resources, while other countries in Europe and North America used these resources. The birth of these multinational companies, were referred to as the “The Seven Sisters.” These petroleum companies included Exxon, Gulf, Texaco, Mobil, Socal, British Petroleum and Shell, had influence throughout the world from the mid 1900's to the end of the 1960's. Many oil producing nations realized that their countries could become wealthy if they controlled the price of oil. This shifting of powers from the multinational oil companies to the oil producing countries created OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) which is the present power broker for crude oil. OPEC members include Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. They produce about 40% of the world's oil and hold more than 77% of the world's proven oil reserves. These 11 countries act as a voting block to control the supply of oil, which controls the price of oil. Today, many nations are trying to reduce their dependence on crude oil. However, the demand is still high as we look for sources of renewable energy like hydroelectric and solar. Math/Science Nucleus © 2001 5 EARTH SCIENCES - PETROLEUM Lesson 2 - How Oil and Gas are Created MATERIALS: Objective: Students read about how reader petroleum is made in nature. Teacher note Most adults have no idea where petroleum products come from. An oil company once used dinosaurs to help promote their product. From that one commercial many people figured dinosaurs must have produced oil. Although dinosaurs did add to the organic carbon in soil, they are not the real producers of oil. Ask your students where corn oil or olive oil comes from. Some will look at you funny, especially if you emphasize the word “corn” and “olive” when you ask the question again. Oil bodies are very common in fruits and seeds to help provide energy and carbon for the developing seedling. Yes, animals do have oil, but it is the plant kingdom from which most oil is created. Only a few animals, like the sperm whale have enough oil to produce a product. Debate over where the hydrocarbons came from to produce crude oil was common in the early exploration. Now you can look at the chemical signatures of the oil and almost determine what the original organism matter may have been. Zones of high organic productivity like coastal areas, upwelling, and coral reefs are the likely candidates to produce enough organic material. In many cases, diatoms, a one celled plant is a common source of the carbon and hydrogen. Bacterial decay of these masses as sediments bury them cause oil to form.

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